Notre Dame announces hiring of Chris Ash as new defensive coordinator

On Saturday afternoon, the Notre Dame football program announced that it had hired Chris Ash to become its new defensive coordinator.

The 51-year-old replaces Al Golden, who served in the same position in South Bend for three years before returning to the Cincinnati Bengals, where he’ll also be a defensive coordinator.

News broke immediately after Notre Dame fell in the national championship game that the Bengals would be targeting Golden, and three days later, the news was official that Golden took the job. On Jan. 26, reports surfaced that Ash was a “strong candidate” for the opening, and Ash accepted the job Jan. 29. Ash’s hire became official Feb. 1.

“Chris’ experience of coordinating and leading great defensive units at multiple places really resonated with me,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. “His experience both in the NFL and as a head coach are valuable assets he can bring to our program. Chris has a great reputation of being a coach who builds strong relationships, while simultaneously developing his players, and that makes him a great fit for this role.”

Ash has been an FBS defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Texas. He was also a co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

In his most recent tour of duty as a defensive coordinator, with Texas in 2020, Ash led the No. 61 scoring defense at 28.5 points per game. The Longhorns were more stingy than that number indicates under his direction, finishing at No. 27 in rushing yards per carry against (3.63) and tied for No. 31 in passing yards per attempt (6.8).

Ash finished his Rutgers career with an 8-32 record. Most recently, he was the defensive backs coach with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. He was a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024.

Ash’s most obvious connection to Freeman is his time at Ohio State. He was co-DCs with Freeman’s boss at Cincinnati, current Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, in Columbus, Ohio.

THE ASH FILE

• Hometown: Ottumwa, Iowa
• High School: Ottumwa
• College: Drake (1996), Iowa State (Master’s Degree, 2005)
• Wife: Doreen
• Children: Tanner, Brady, Jacey, Alexis

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

• 1992-95 Drake (Safety)

COACHING CAREER

• 1997 Drake Graduate Assistant
• 1998-99 Drake Defensive Coordinator
• 2000-01 Iowa State Graduate Assistant 
• 2002-05 Iowa State Defensive Backs Coach 
• 2006 Iowa State Defensive Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator
• 2007-08 San Diego State Defensive Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator 
• 2009 Iowa State Defensive Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator 
• 2010 Wisconsin Defensive Backs Coach
• 2011-12 Wisconsin Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach 
• 2013 Arkansas Defensive Coordinator and Secondary Coach 
• 2014-15 Ohio State Co-Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach 
• 2016-19 Rutgers Head Coach 
• 2019 Texas Defensive Analyst
• 2020 Texas Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach 
• 2021 Jacksonville Jaguars Safeties Coach 
• 2022-23 Las Vegas Raiders Defensive Backs Coach 
• 2024 Jacksonville Jaguars Scout 

BOWLS/PLAYOFFS COACHED

• 2000 Insight.com Bowl (Iowa State)
• 2001 Independence Bowl (Iowa State)
• 2002 Humanitarian Bowl (Iowa State)
• 2004 Independence Bowl (Iowa State)
• 2005 Houston Bowl (Iowa State)
• 2009 Insight Bowl (Iowa State)
• 2011 Rose Bowl (Wisconsin)
• 2011 Big Ten Championship (Wisconsin)
• 2012 Rose Bowl (Wisconsin)
• 2012 Big Ten Championship (Wisconsin)
• 2014 Big Ten Championship (Ohio State)
• 2015 CFP Semifinal (Ohio State)
• 2015 CFP National Championship (Ohio State)
• 2016 Fiesta Bowl (Ohio State)
• 2019 Alamo Bowl (Texas)
• 2020 Alamo Bowl (Texas)